Post-Caelus: Galleon Park
by Blue and Away
Summary: Calamity struck Earth Land in the year X850. Years later, a man began the first guild to be started in the age of the apocalypse. But, from a broken world, many look to seize control and reshape what the future of civilization will look like. The wizards of Galleon Park are just one such contender, and fervently seek to bring an end to the chaotic age of lawlessness in X906. SYOC.
1. Strangers on The Train

**May 3rd, X906.**

Three wheels spun across dust and rubble, zipping between low mounds of rubble and junk. With every harsh movement, the tricycle's trail of smoke changed direction, swinging about like the tail on an excited puppy. At that puppy's nose was a young woman with a gleaming smile, her goggles pressed far ahead the vehicle's handlebars, as if leaning against the front axle would shave even more seconds off her latest record.

All around the tricycle were the remains of a razed metropolis. Buildings lay on their sides, some leaned against one another like a stubborn set of dominoes and others seemed to have completely disappeared, leaving only a sandbox of rubble behind. The quilt of dust over the desolate city sat undisturbed save for the speeding vehicle waking it up with its fearsome engine. Wheels whizzed by a long forgotten metal notice, welcoming tourists to Oak Town. But, it had been quite a long while since anyone had known it by that name.

"What are we at, Kiryu?!"

Wrapped around the girl's chest were two, lanky, pale arms clinging tight to one another despite the nervous sweat dripping off of him. Before the question, his eyes had been shut tight, but now a single hazel iris made its appearance, scanning the horizon around for just a moment. Once Kiryu had gathered his bearings, he glanced at his wrist, the two hands of the watch ticking methodically by.

"Eight minutes and forty-two seconds! I told you, we picked up too much crap this time!"

The Trike rolled off a ramp of junk, landing aggressively against the ground, much to Kiryu's chagrin. Bouncing their blistering pace was a small metal wagon, full of goods but covered by a dark tarp that fluttered in the wind. "Negativity slows me down!" The puppy replied, pushing forward against the handlebars. "We'll just have to pull out all the stops! Take a deep breath, buddy!"

Kiryu recognized what was coming and gripped tighter to the girl at the handlebars. "If we were really buddies you wouldn't do this to me!"

"Can't be having that pesky air drag! Hold tight! Diver Magic!"

"Have mercy!"

"Sky Tunnel!"

Conjured directly into their path by the girl's incantation was a cerulean magic circle. In a moment, the vehicle broke through the circle like they were crashing through a gate, and silence surrounded the pair and the wheels beneath them. Cut off from the atmosphere, Kiryu's lungs screamed for a breath of oxygen that wasn't anywhere to be found. The girl felt the strain, but clutched tight to the handlebars all the same. No doubt rested in her mind.

Cut off from the outside world in this strange little magic funnel, one could almost imagine the two were driving through something normal.

* * *

 **Walton Fable's Journal. Entry, June 2nd, X850.**

I woke up in a dead world this morning. I don't write that to sound dramatic, but really, those fools in the Council really stepped in it this time. I hesitated to write the date for this entry. Dust still covers the sky like a quilt of clouds, and I only recently realized what time in the day it was. I've yet to find anyone else alive. Animals, beasts and humans are all too still for my tastes. Read any of these other entries and you can hear about how much I always hated the noise people make, I won't retrace those steps here and now.

But, now, I'd give anything to hear a baby squeal for a stupid piece of candy, or some chatty teenage girls. Spirits help me, I even miss lights. Those damned lights I moved into the forest to escape from. There were no wizards to light them in the city this morning. I've never seen something so empty. Cities used to spill over, gag and spit up their own populations. Now it just seems hungry and sad. I'm sleeping in the only building still standing, some small metal hut that used to rest under a house. My presence does nothing to alleviate the city's hunger.

I don't plan to stay here long. I never used to believe in ghosts. But, the thought of so many people simply disappearing is too sad to bear. I must believe they left something behind after Caelus. Even if they're just hollow spirits.

I couldn't sleep, so I've returned to writing on this entry. I blame the ghosts. I've decided that if I can't find anyone else and everyone's dead, I will endeavor to be the best at everything I can. After all, who can compete with me? Tonight I shall conquer the world of poetry. The following is titled, 'Sweet Shop.'

 _Nobody ever needed candy_

 _Pitiful people only wanted them_

 _I have always hated those sweets_

 _Broken fudge litters the ground_

 _Wait_

 _Where are all the kids_

 _Don't they love this shit?_

It's not very good. But who are you to criticize the world's greatest poet?

* * *

 **May 3rd, X906**

The puppy of a woman leapt off of her tricycle, pulling her rectangular goggles down to reveal her face. She looked quite girlish despite her age, with sparse freckles lining her pale complexion and short nose. Large green eyes adjusted to the sunlight without her goggles, and pure white hair spilled out of her helmet once she pulled it off, messily tumbling down to her collar.

"For our final time," she announced, as if speaking to a large crowd, "we defer to our official timekeeper! Kiryu Kito! What've you got for us?!" She punctuated the question with a powerslide across the dust, landing at the man, who was doubled over and shivering.

Locks of blond hair draped his terrified expression. Following her rockstar slide, Kiryu fell to one side. "Sorry, Jo," he said with a resigned smile, "that's it for me on this bitch of an Earth." He raised a thumb to the sky, "It was a good run though…"

"Stop it!" Jo demanded, violently shaking the guy back and forth. "If you're gonna die at least tell me my time! My bragging rights depend on it!"

Kiryu jumped to his feet and pointed an accusatory finger at the girl, "I just wanted to double check my maps! And you steal my air! I need that to live! What if I had really died?"

"Give me more credit than that," the girl said, standing up and walking towards the cargo attached to her tricycle. "You know as well as I do that I wouldn't have let you die, buddy." She pulled back on the tarp to inspect the integrity of her haul.

At that assurance, Kiryu smiled a bit, wiping the hair from his blue eyes, "Of course you wouldn't Jo, you're a good person, somewhere deep down in there."

"Who else would tell me my time?"

"That's it!"

"Joke! It was a joke, Kiryu!"

"Let's see how you like it when you can't breathe!"

The young man gunned for her throat, tackled her and the pair were sent into earth, tangled up and wrestling one another, with laughs and death threats being thrown out in even frequency. Neither relented for quite a while, until Jo finally seized the upper hand, and took her throne, sitting on the small of Kiryu's back. His chin rested on his hands, as if resigned to the position.

With a long sigh, he finally spoke up, "You don't need me to tell you anyways, do you? I'd be surprised if you couldn't already tell."

Jo stood up from her victim's back and moved more reverently towards the Trike's handlebars, running a gentle hand along them and the SE plug. She'd been wearing it so frequently that the device had left marks along her skin. Jo loved them. "I still need to know for sure."

A watch flew through the air, and Jo caught it easily, staring at the small clock face with a grand smile spreading across her face.

"Nine minutes and eight seconds," Kiryu said. "Congratulations Jo Salazar, you're officially the fastest Scavenger in Galleon Park."

She tossed back the watch and returned to her seat on the vehicle, raising her goggles, returning her helmet to her head and returning the plug back to its rightful place. "Let's go report to Fable then. I've got to rub this in the old man's face before he croaks!"

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you kindly for reading! I've decided to restart my efforts here with a story that won't be as dependent on the volume of submissions I receive. This way I will use a limited cast, and be able to continue the story regardless of the amount of characters I accept. However, that doesn't mean I don't wanna see what y'all are capable of cooking up! I'm very excited to push forward with this story as quickly as possible, so please don't hesitate in putting forward your character submissions. Details will be on my profile. I'm interested in getting to explore this world along with your characters! And of course, let me know what you think in the reviews!

Special Thanks to Dreadburner94 for beta-reading this chapter for me.


	2. Freaky Love

**May 4th, X906**

Theodore G. Wellington's violet eyes followed a trail of dust move closer and closer to the tall bulwark atop which he stood. A spyglass hovered in front of his eye, the young man was very careful not to let the old tool touch his skin, and upon closer inspection, he saw the pair riding in front of that dust trail, recognizing them immediately. Theo sneered and pulled away the spyglass, collapsing it, putting aside neatly and proceeding to wipe his hands with the small soap he kept on his person.

Jo Salazar slowed the tricycle down to a crawl as the vehicle approached Seedling City. A small stone road led between a wide, mostly metal wall that only stood a few meters tall in spots. The wall looked as if it was a crazy quilt, with many spots that looked more shabby than others, portions decorated with rust and holes. Just over its top, one could see the various buildings of the town.

Walking through the city, anybody could note just how abandoned the space was, but from the outside, one could imagine the tall buildings were stuffed with crowds, and the sidewalks overflowed with pedestrians. From the outside, Seedling City could be just about anything, it was a glittering fantasy of possibility, and even with all its apparent destruction, was a far cry from the urban centers before the Touch of Caelus.

"Easy there, ma'am!" Theodore called out from his place on the wall. The young man was perched under a wooden shack. It was situated just to the right of an opening in the wall. On the left was a sloppily painted sign that used to read, "Welcome to Seedling City," but it had been vandalized and edited so many times it looked like a vibrant, hasty finger painting courtesy of some juvenile. Shouting through cupped hands to make sure his voice reached Jo, Theo continued, "You wouldn't wanna be setting off any of my traps!"

"Traps?" Kiryu Kito asked, puzzled at the idea, before scanning the road ahead of the stationary Trike.

"Who dares call me 'ma'am?'" Jo looked up towards the shack, shading her eyes behind the goggles to get a look at who was threatening her. Theodore stood a bit short, with brown skin and an athletic body mostly hidden under a black, gold trimmed blazer and black necktie over a white dress shirt. Theo's eyes peered condescendingly down at the Scavenger from behind thin rimmed glasses, his purple bowl cut hanging safely out of his eyeline, a ponytail slung over his shoulder.

"This isn't right," Kiryu muttered to himself, checking a watch on his left wrist, "Isn't Oliver supposed to be on guard duty right now?!"

"Confidential information, sir" Theodore replied. Smoke began to billow out of the idle tricycle, and Theo defensively raised an immaculate handkerchief to his lips and nostrils. "That's only privy to Galleon Park wizards, sir."

Jo rolled her eyes, an expression that went underappreciated under her goggles. "You want me to undress and show off my guild mark? Let us through, Theo! Right now, or the next time I have a cold I'll spit in your food!"

"You're not supposed to set traps!" Kiryu chastised, "Seedling City welcomes everyone!"

Theo scoffed behind his handkerchief, ignoring Jo's terrifying threat, "A lax policy which will no doubt bring some sort of plague onto our people, or some infestation! I'm the only one who cares around here!"

"Is that why you took Oliver's shift?"

"Oliver said he needed to start on dinner early, so he delegated his shift to Hana! But, she claimed that she simply didn't want to continue working, and thus forced Aiden take her watch. But, then Aiden threatened letting his toddlers loose on the city and I volunteered to take the shift! Not that it's any of your business, sir!"

Kiryu shoved his face into the palms of his hands, "I swear I work with the laziest people."

"Are you gonna let us through or not, Theo?"

"Not until I see some confirmation of identity!"

Jo smiled at the answer she knew was coming and revved up the Trike's engine. "If you insist," she said quietly, pumping the engine once more. Its roar only made Theo increasingly nervous.

 **"Diver: Ground Work!"**

Inches in front of the Trike, a large magic circle sprang into being as if laid across the earth like a carpet. Driving over the circle, the vehicle tilted downwards and into the magic circle, disappearing underneath the ground. The circle's twin materialized, small and growing within the city's walls before the Trike drove out of it and back into the fresh air, emerging from the magic tunnel. Much to Theo's dismay, Jo, Kiryu and their cargo had bypassed the Keeper's checkpoint.

"Let the record show I let you through!" Theo shouted, muttering something about some good traps going to waste.

"You're back!"

Jo's attention turned from Theo to a boy running towards the Trike with a wide smile.

"Yo, Prince!" Jo said excitably, tearing off the SE plug and pulling up her goggles.

"Xervius," Kiryu said with a nod of his head. The Keeper recognized the wooden box in the boy's hand. "Still playing against the old man?"

Xervius Seplhuon, bared his clean white teeth at the question, hefting the chessboard. He was one of the youngest wizards in Galleon Park, not quite seventeen years old, but stood just as tall as Theo, albeit a bit slimmer in frame. He peeled away a navy hood to reveal some slicked back violet hair, and fair skin. He tried to keep his eyes focused on Kiryu instead of Jo, which gave the Scavenger a mischievous smile.

"You're still playing with the old man?" Jo said, leaning too far forward on her Trike, revealing a view of her neckline that pushed Xervius' eyes further away from the woman. "Wouldn't you rather spend some time with me? Aren't princes supposed to be more chivalrous towards fair damsels?"

Kiryu pushed Jo in the back, almost toppling her into the dusty city street. "Don't pay her any mind. How's Walton doing, Xervius?"

The boy swallowed and nodded nervously. "I still can't beat him if that's what you mean. But, he's still laid up in bed. Has been since the other day."

"What a drama queen!" Jo complained, and regained her composure. "Everyone keeps worrying over him too! Get off the Trike, Kiryu, I'm going to deliver this stuff to the Church!"

"I thought you had some bragging to do," Kiryu replied, but swung his leg over the seat all the same.

Xervius managed to pipe up too, but kept his eyeline well away from the woman's chest, with his cheeks flushed red. "He's been asking to see you guys when you come back," he said.

"I'll be happy to talk to him when he gets his lazy rear out of bed!" Jo protested, and sped off from the pair of boys, her trip's findings trailing behind her.

Xervius nodded, and tucked the chessboard back under his armpit. "No skin off my back, I still get paid for passing along the message."

"Oh you'll learn, rookie," Kiryu said sympathetically. "The Master never pays for missions."

"What?"

"I'm sure you'll get a nice I.O.U. though."

"But, he pinky promised!"

* * *

 **Walton Fable's Journal. Entry, June 16th, X850**

I still haven't found anybody else. I'll sometimes see traces of people. Like some burnt out campfires or footsteps or something vague and promising. I don't know why I'm trying to find people, though. What would I even do if I found one? I'd probably do the same thing that I used to. I'd badger them, I'd be insufferable, talk about the flaws of Fiore until they didn't wanna be around me and then I wouldn't wanna be around them and.

I don't know where I was going with that paragraph so I just kind of stopped. I found a clothing shop today. I've blended in with the locals. It's just too bad there's no more locals. I even paid for the clothes. With real Jewel! No one was there to enforce the law. No one was there to accept the money. In fact, it looked as if the shop had been ransacked several times before I'd even arrived.

If this was before the damned Magic Council had blown the world to hell, I probably wouldn't have paid for the clothes. I'd have thought it a service to steal from the Fiore economy. But, something about just taking the clothes felt so wrong. It felt gross. As if I was enjoying the fact that people were gone. It made me realize that I really don't enjoy people being gone. I still hate them! Every single last upstanding citizen of the continent! But, still I paid. It felt good. It felt like I was taking part in this grand world that I've been missing out on the past couple of years.

I suppose it's just too bad I'm so late to the game. It's like I discovered some great band only to find out they broke up a month ago. I just wanna say, "Wait, wait! I'm here now guys! You can keep playing. Keep playing, I promise, I'm paying attention now. Just play one more song!"

Come on, everybody. I'm here now, aren't I?

* * *

 **May 4th, X906**

"I've met every one of your demands, you guys! What more can you take from me?!"

The sunlight beat down onto the hostage. He was just about middle-aged, with cream colored skin, draped in beads of sweat. Light blond hair mostly hung out of his face, but a few loose strands fell in front of the man's blue, round, sunglasses, if his hands weren't bound by tight hemp rope they might have fixed that issue. Just like if he wasn't tied to a creaky wooden chair, he'd be standing a few inches shy of six feet tall. But, as it happened, he was completely ensnared, with his kidnappers surrounding him in a group of a dozen or so young children.

"Take his sunglasses!" The tallest of the kids ordered raising a fist high above his head. The command triggered a chorus of cheers and jovial shouts. The ring of children closed in on the man, no squirming and squealing.

"Not the sunglasses, children, you don't know what you're doing! You wouldn't want me to go blind would you?"

This gave some of the more tenderhearted kids some pause. And the tallest among them spoke again, "Would you really go blind, Father?"

"But, of course!" the priest exclaimed. "In front of all your shining faces, it's my only protection!" The joke earned silence.

The priest kept up a nervous smile, a parade of sweat running across his face. The kids looked to their makeshift chieftain for what to do.

"Take the glasses."

"Mercy!"

An engine roared a few meters away from the hostage situation, interrupting the negotiations.

"It's Jo!" one of the girls pointed out, running towards the Trike. The rest of the kids followed suit, most of them fawning over the girl, while some of the older kids explored the trailer full of junk she was towing. Questions popped up all around about what they might have brought her, while others were more interested on hitching a ride around the city.

"Oh, Joey," the priest said, "do you think you could help me out?"

After Jo had untied the priest, they sat on the porch of the Seedling City church. It was one of the nicer buildings in Seedling, and doubled as the town's orphanage. Its latest coat of paint was almost an even white, and hardly had any cracks along its stone exterior. Position above its roof, just a little crooked, was the symbol of the Church of the One, a large ornate crossed topped with a star, the same symbol that the priest sported on the back of his black dress shirt, a white clerical collar wrapped around his neck.

"You know one of these days you should actually discipline these kids, Aiden," Jo advised him. The pair spoke as they watched the group play around in the trinkets and materials that the Scavenger had picked up on her trip.

Aiden Cherche shrugged, he was sitting against the side of the doorframe, sporting a grin on his face. "They're good as they are. Most people are, Joey."

"Jo," the woman corrected. "And, they literally just kidnapped you to steal your candy stockpile."

"No worse than you were as a little squirt of a girl," Aiden laughed. "And you turned out just perfectly fine, Joey. Even Walton thinks so. Have you seen him since you came back?"

"Jo," she corrected again, "and he can talk to me when he gets out bed. Don't tell me you've bought into his latest joke too, Aiden."

The priest took off his blue sunglasses, revealing a solemn set of sky blue eyes. "I gave him a blessing at the hospital yesterday. He doesn't look good."

Jo's eyes connected with Aiden's for a moment, but broke away quickly. She instead started paying attention to a game of king of the hill on top of her scrap. "And in two weeks, he'll be perfectly fine once he gets bored of everybody in the guild doting on him. I'm not going to fall for his stupid prank. I'll just be laughing along once it's all over."

Aiden was visibly disappointed. He returned the shades to his eyes and opted to change the subject. "We'll be sure to make sure your haul lasts as long as we can, in any case, considering our new marching orders."

"New marching orders?"

"Oh? You didn't hear? Galleon Park is grounded until every wizard returns. Now that you and Kiryu have made your way back that just leaves Ulshi and Kuri to return."

Jo groaned at the news, "You're telling me we can't leave?! Why not?"

Aiden shrugged, and turned his eyeline to the kids. "Walton is being pretty tight about it. But, he wants everybody together for some event or something."

"The punchline to his practical joke, no doubt," Jo said, walking from the porch. "I'll leave this here for you to look through, alright?"

Aiden stood up from his seat on the stone steps, wiping the dust from his black pants. "You've got it, Joey. It was good talking to you! Should I save you a seat for this Sunday's service?"

"It's Jo, Father! And, no!"

"See you there!"

"I'm not joining your cult!"

* * *

A burgeoning forest mingled with a decaying metropolis, creating a scene that felt ancient yet modern, while altogether foreign. A monkey swung from a lantern to a vine back to the street level, joining two women as they moved quickly through the city. One sprinted along like a beast, reaching down and letting the monkey clamber onto her back. Her partner kept pace on a hoverboard that hummed along the stone and flora.

"I can't believe you started a fight back there!" the hoverboarder shouted. "I said I wanted to check that record store!"

Her partner's passenger shouted out, protesting in whatever loud, screeching language monkeys spoke. As if the partner could understand what the monkey said, she nodded along, "What Rocky said! If we had another Courser with us, we could take 'em!"

The Scavenger banked right around a large tree that had broken through the rock. "You're lucky you're cute Wild Woman," she said. "How is this even possible?! Did they have some wizard that's been growing this forest?!"

"I didn't stick around to ask!" The wild woman replied. The title was quite apt, as the tall, well-endowed, muscular woman dressed like something out of a different era. Her unkempt brown hair was cloaked by the fur of some bear, her feet were bare as they struck against the stone, and only the most private parts of her body were concealed by messy, handmade clothing.

Her partner was a few inches shy of the wild woman, despite being a decade older than the seventeen year-old. Even floating on the hoverboard, she was still shorter, with a slim build. Her outfit was even the polar opposite of the wild woman, sporting jean shorts, a vibrant tank top with a slogan in a foreign language and a maroon flannel meant to match her red high tops. Just as her turquoise eyes almost matched her electric blue hair styled in an undercut that bent under the wind.

"What's the play then, Kuri?" the wild woman asked.

Kuri Reizo smiled, "Ain't that obvious, honey? We go for the music!" At that declaration, the woman planted her foot into the ground, swinging the hoverboard around in a tight u-turn, and reversing the trio's retreat into an advance. "You still got juice for a fight, Ulshi?"

"That's my job isn't it, boss lady?!" Ulshi Lyperx replied, with the general sentiment echoed by a feral screech from the monkey on her shoulder.

Another man and woman came into view. They rode on two mechanized unicycles. The machines were mostly constituted by a large disc of steel and rubber underneath small metal saddles and handlebars. Their riders were both skinheads, with the guy wearing an open faced jacket, sporting a plethora of tattoos along his dark skin, a feature shared by the female rider.

"You or me?" Ulshi asked politely, the pair's appearance doing nothing to slow her sprint.

"Ladies first, right?" Kuri said, and poured on the speed to break in front of her partner.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?! I'm a lady too!"

"Requip!" Kuri said, jumping off the hoverboard so it might coast to a stop along the stone, **"Savatier Speedsters!"**

The red high tops disappeared in a pair of light blue magic circles, being replaced by sleek black running shoes with blue streaks across their design. The moment the new shoes touched the ground, Kuri was off like lightning, disappearing in a flash of speed. The female rider looked about for where Kuri had gone, only to feel a finger tap her on the shoulder. She looked over to see Kuri keeping pace with the vehicle on foot, but couldn't react before a sudden punch met with the rider's jaw and threw her off balance.

The second rider took note of that and raised his hand high, for a violet magic circle to appear over his hand, **"Ink Spill!"**

Jets of black liquid poured all over the ground, and Kuri felt the friction below her feet give way, until she was sliding across the street having lost all control over her direction.

 **"Hair of the Hare!"**

Ulshi's voice caught the rider's attention, distracting him from his momentary victory. But, the only thing running towards him was a lone monkey, screeching some undecipherable war cry. From high above, Ulshi came crashing down, her body wrecking the rider and his unicycle as she landed from her grand jump.

The unicycle rolled on for a few more meters, and Rocky faced down the slow vehicle, hitting it with a simple right hook to knock over the machine. He leapt on top of the toppled engine, jumping up and down in celebration of his contribution. Kuri stood up carefully from the slippery spell, and took a look at Ulshi. The spell had changed the wild woman's appearance, giving her a long pair of ears atop her head, a thin coat of fur, and little puff of a cottontail below the girl's hips.

"Cute," Kuri remarked with a smile. "Now, where was that store again?"

"Wait a moment," Ulshi replied, one of her ears twitching as she spoke. "I think I hear more of them."

"Good," her partner said, stretching out her legs in anticipation. "I'd be embarrassed if that was the end of my fight."

"Now, look at this," a deep, masculine voice spoke. He was completely hairless, wearing nothing but a pair of violet leather pants and black boots with a sharp point along their toes. All across his chest, arms and head were a gallery of black tattoos sporting any number of designs, people animals and objects. His expression was one of mourning for the fallen comrades at his feet. Flanking the man were two more men, that resembled the fallen rider, save for the fact that they bore sadistic smiles instead of worried frowns.

The rider struggled to his feet, protesting something that hadn't yet happened. "I can still fight, chief," he said. "We both can," he moved towards the girl, trying to shake her awake. "We just need to catch our breath is all."

"Of course, of course," the shirtless man said. "Take all the time you need," he squatted down and placed his hand inside of the ink that the man had created, and the rider's eyes went wide with fear. "Rest forever, my brother, my sister."

 **"Tattoo-Take!"**

Like a supernatural sponge, the chief's arm soaked up the ink, the liquid receding into the man's pale arm, and dragging the man and woman along with it. The man desperately tried to escape and claw his way free of the tide, to no avail. Both seemed to melt into a black drink, melding with the chief's arm. Rivers of black ink swam across his pale skin, until a new design appeared on the right side of his neck. They took the shape of two small birds, chasing the tail feathers of the other in some stationary scene.

Kuri's eyes went wide with disgust at the magic. "Dude, that is so gross! Are they just on your skin or something? What the hula hoop, man?!"

"I think it's rather beautiful," the tattooed man replied. "I'll call them... ' _The Lovers.'_ How does that sound?"

"I'm all for good art, but this is a bit too much for my taste," Kuri replied. "Have you ever tried watercolors instead?"

Ulshi grunted, and bent her legs in preparation for a fight. Her long ears twitched again. "Consuming his own kind? This guy's not any kind of animal, Kuri," she said solemnly. "He's not worth talking to. He's lower than a human."

"Yet, I do have feelings," the tattooed man protested. "Maybe you'll gain a better appreciation of my art if you can become a part of it."

Ulshi bared her teeth. "I'm done talking," she said, and both Kuri and Rocky echoed the sentiments.

"Take them for me! Brothers! Sisters!" The chief shouted his command, and dozens more tattooed riders came out of the woodwork, making themselves known and closing in on the Galleon Park wizards.

* * *

Kiryu and Xervius ascended a short flight of stairs amidst some idle conversation about what had happened in Seedling while Kiryu was out of town. Opening a white door to the next floor of the hospital, they took stock of a violent chase going on. A frantic nurse was chasing down a figure that jumped through the white door Xervius was holding open, clearing the entire flight of stairs only to land safely.

"Just in time!" the old man declared, his back facing the pair of wizards. "Kiryu! Organize the Keepers! Xervius, the Coursers! I will assemble the Scavengers as hastily as possible! This mission is S-Class, all hands on deck, code black emergency. A distress lacrima has been activated by our field operatives!"

Walton Fable turned his head around to see the two wizards averting their gaze from the Galleon Park guild master. Both wizards gave hearty "Yes, sir!" while keeping their eyes trained on the ceiling.

"Just where do you two think you're looking?! Do you think this is any time for games?!"

Xervius was too red in the face to respond, and so Kiryu chose to fall on the sword. "Sir!" he addressed Walton without moving his eyes, "You... um... forgot to tie the up the back of your hospital gown... sir."

"Well that would explain the breeze," Walton replied.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading! I'm so fortunate to have received the massive outpouring of support from everyone who submitted a character! Just a few were revealed this chapter, but I'm anxious to get around to showing everybody's fine work off in the chapters to come. For those whose work was shown off, please let me know what you thought of your character's portrayal, so I can get around to stopping any bad habits before they form. I look forward to seeing what you all thought of the second chapter and already have plans for future installments, I hope you're there to see them. While character submissions have closed for Galleon Park, villain submissions will open shortly.

 **Character Credits**

Theodore G. Wellington - _SilverMonkey96_

Xervius Selphuon - _onyxwhip_

Aiden Cherche - _MisterMediocre_

Ulshi Lyperx - _dragvil1996_

Kuri Reizo - _MyDearWatson_

 **Review Responses**

 _AlcatrazDGold:_ Thanks for the good vibes! I'm hoping this one can live up to your expectations. Wishing you the same in your own Fairy Tail story.

 _MyDearWatson:_ I'm always proud to hear my character work does it's job. I've never checked out FLCL, so I will optimistically accept that as a compliment! Fable's journal will definitely be a continuous thing, especially now that I can contrast his present and past personalities.

 _musicaldreams89:_ I'm very happy this new story didn't have quite the character requirements the old one did. I'm far happier with how this one is turning out.

 _Origm2012:_ Glad to hear I was not a disappointing recommendation. Here's hoping I continued the strength of the imagery and humor. Mysteries will definitely be unraveled... albeit slowly. Especially now that Walton has made his first true appearance.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom! Good on you!


	3. Drive it Like you Stole it

**May 4th, X906**

The Galleon Park guild hall looked as if two entirely different buildings collided together and decided to stay that way. Its architecture was cavernous and open, with ornate pillars holding up four floors of the building. Each floor above the first was crammed with a set of bookshelves, many of which had been carefully organized by the guild's resident librarian and neat freak. However, many of the building's offices had been converted into sleeping quarters, occupied by Galleon Park wizards or left vacant for future members. It seemed to be part motel and part grand library, with no clear balance between the two.

Populating the first floor were many of the guild's wizards, who milled about, struggling to figure out why they'd been so hastily collected. Some engaged in idle conversation or patient activity, but one was struggling under the pressure of the small crowd.

Damian Hidalgo was putting together his magic rifle for the fourth time since he'd arrived in the guild hall. He'd spent much of morning working on his outfit for the day (sangria colored trousers, robe beige tunic a bulky scarf hiding some of his face, a tight sash around his waist and black boots), but the Master had interrupted his careful accessorizing, barked some orders at the Seeker and now he was stuck there, trying to keep his focus on the parts of his weapon.

Celeste Deliano had been one of the first wizards that Xervius had found, and was waiting in the guild hall longer than most. Her rose gold hair hung past her hips and it bounced slightly as her brown combat boot tapped incessantly against the stone floor. Vanilla skin was marred by two marks hidden, her red guild mark on her shoulder by a brown leather jacket and a narrow scar across her hip by a pair of black trousers.

Hoping to find some answers, she approached Damian, the only one left in the hall who she hadn't yet asked about the situation.

"So," Celeste said cautiously, jolting Damian out of his focused work. "Did the prince pick you up too?"

The man's eyes were ice blue when he looked up from his work, connecting with Celeste's violet, but they quickly switched to a bright brown once he'd processed the question. "Our master, actually. Suppose that makes me more important than you?"

Celeste scoffed at the remark, but didn't humor him. "The day a junker is more important than me is the day I retire. Did Walton say anything about what this was about?"

Damian thoughtfully considered telling the truth. But, that kind of small talk just felt overwhelmingly boring for him. "Of course. I don't get out of bed without a good reason."

"Really?!" her loud voice attracted the attention of some of the others, "Well spit it out, man!"

"It's on a need to know basis," Damian quickly replied, "Walton specifically mentioned that you don't need to know."

"Hilarious," Celeste remarked, far less amused than before.

"How about me then, Optic?" another woman's voice interrupted their conversation.

They turned to see Zevenna Maul, and Damian was regretting his fib more and more. The woman was shorter than them both, and quite slender, but was much older, twice the age of Celeste. Her brown skin was wrapped up in bandages that ran across her chest and arms as a substitute for actual clothes. Though she also wore black shorts and a black cloak tied to her with a white sash around her waist and soft bottom shoes.

"Can you tell a lowly S-Class such as me?" Zevenna pushed, and Damian began sweating under the pressure of his division's leader along with the rest of the crowd.

"What're you all doing over there?" an elderly man shouted. The crowd was relieved to finally see Walton Fable return to the guild hall, closely followed by Jo Salazar. Impatiently skipping the wait for the answer, he spoke to Xervius instead. "That's all the Coursers? Where's Kiryu?"

"Trying to pull Oliver away from the kitchen," Theodore Wellington answered for Xervius, with a derisive tinge to his voice.

As if on cue, Aiden, Kiryu and a third person, Oliver Raleigh entered into the guild hall, each of them carrying two wooden crates that gave off a wondrous smell to those close enough to the entrance.

"It was no small feat converting a dinner into this lunch," the huge man complained, setting down a pair of the crates carefully. "Don't blame me for any problems."

Aiden Cherche carelessly tossed his crates onto the floor with a clatter that sent shivers up Oliver's spine. "I'm sure it'll be fine Oli- Gah!"

Oliver had grabbed the collar of Aiden's shirt, his gray eyes unusually lively with rage. The man was intimidating even when he wasn't choking out a fellow wizard, almost six and a half feet tall, and two hundred pounds of toned muscle. The body was dressed in a blue tunic with a large black belt decorated with tan satchels, and black jeans tucked into a pair of brown leather boots. His tanned, scarred hands looked as if they were going to rip the priest apart.

"Hey, Father, surely you meant to be a bit more careful with everyone's lunch, right? Father?"

The priest could've built a pool with the nervous sweat dripping below his sunglasses. "Of course, of course, Ollie, my boy! You can spare me. I'm one of the good ones!"

Oliver set the priest's feet back on the ground and smiled warmly to the rest of the guild, "I hope my food helps you all on this important mission, friends!"

"What a mood swing," Damian thought to himself, relieved the atmosphere had completely shifted away from him.

"Speaking of which" Celeste said, "just what is this mission? All I've been able to piece together is that we've got some trouble in the field."

"This mission is S-Class!" Walton Fable announced, trying desperately to retake control of the situation in the room.

"Doesn't mean much coming from you," Jo interrupted.

Walton sneered a bit at the comment, but ignored it all the same. "A distress lacrima was activated! Kuri and Ulshi's investigative mission has been compromised. Your client is myself. The job's parameters are to figure out what happened to our fellow wizards, rescue both wizards if possible, and put to rest whatever threat forced them into such a position as to ask us for help."

"There's no way that animal Ulshi used a distress signal," Theodore complained. "How do we know we're not walking into some sort of trap with this?"

"That's our little trap expert," Oliver said with a smile, wrapping his neck in a chokehold that was probably meant to be a hug.

Walton nodded at that comment, stroking his angular beard with a hand, "Both wizards are late to return anyways. We must prepare for the worst.

"We will close in on the position of the signal in four teams! Each S-Class wizard will form a team with two others outside of their division, and I will take one from each division to come with me. Use your Scavenger's transportation or speak with Grease if you need some way to move."

Some wizards hastily looked about to make sure they wouldn't get trapped with a wizard they didn't like, but Kiryu quickly counted up the wizards and raised another question for the Master. "Walton, the teams won't exactly be even if we do that, right? We'll have one Keeper leftover, right?"

Walton looked entirely shocked by this, and tried to inconspicuously do a count of his own to confirm this observation, coming to the same conclusion. "Ah of course. That's why you will be staying behind, Kiryu! After all, someone needs to defend Seedling City in our absence!"

"As if you had a good reason!"

"No arguing!"

Jo Salazar walked directly to Aiden and clapped him on his shoulder. "Alright, Father, do your thing, who's rounding out our squad?"

Aiden's bright smile couldn't be dimmed by his shades, "Oh? How do you know I even want you on my team, huh, Joey?"

"Please, everyone wants to ride in the Trike."

"Aiden," Walton said, capturing both wizards' attentions. "I trust you won't mind working with Carmen on this mission," he continued, gesturing to the young woman walking towards the priest. "I'd much prefer to work with Jo in this operation."

"You're the boss, boss," Aiden replied, trying to sound much more optimistic about his order than he actually was.

Jo sneered and stayed in place. "You'd really go that far? I knew you weren't sick. Xervius said you were running around like a madman!"

"I am sick! Brat! Go get your Trike hitched up with a carriage while I gather the rest of our team!"

The last thing the girl wanted to do was listen to his orders. But, delaying the rescue of her friends didn't feel like a realistic option, and she walked off, muttering something about abusive old men.

Following the awkward confrontation, Aiden was left with Carmen Carlyle. At a simple glance, she resembled a cute young woman, standing 5'3" with pale skin. It was only on closer inspection that peculiar details revealed themselves. On her joints were metallic markings, in the pupils of her dark green eyes were crosshairs, and her silver dreadlocks were actually a very fine wiring instead of actual human hair topped by a simple black beret. On the back of her right shoulder was a black guild mark, revealed by a sleeveless white top, paired with a black skirt and matching black shoes.

"So," Aiden cautiously said, "any requests for who our Courser might be?"

Carmen didn't react much to the question. "No opinion. I didn't even want to join your group. In my opinion you're the least capable S-Class wizard in battle."

The priest wrenched the corners of his lips into a meager smile, silently praying for his Lord's strength on the mission that would follow.

"Get off my back, lunch lady! Do you know how much energy it takes to stay awake through these long speeches?!"

Aiden saw the commotion. Oliver's wrath had turned now to another S-Class wizard, who was clinging tightly to one of the crates of food. Slumped against the warm, pungent package was a desperate geezer, protesting Oliver's attempts to separate the old man from his food.

"That's for the trip, Grease! C'mon, man, we can't be eating it now!" Oliver chastised him, struggling against the guy's surprising strength.

Marco Visago, or Grease, was a slender man, just over five and a half feet tall, with a face like a road map from almost seventy years of life. His silver hair was tied into a messy ponytail, it and his deeply tanned skin were both covered in spots of grease and oil, lending credence to his nickname. A tattered green shirt concealed a guild mark of the same color on his left shoulder, and both hid under a pair of black overalls, matching his work boots.

"Please, Grease," Oliver continued, "what if I agree to be on your squad, huh? I bet I can whip you up a nice snack before we go, what do you say man? Just let the food go free!"

Grease immediately let go of the crate and stayed on the stone floor, reaching down for a flask at his hip. "I suppose that's fine, lunch lady," he conceded before taking a deep pull of whatever wretched drink he had swimming in there, "Who else wants to ride in the baddest mother on four wheels?"

"As long as you're not driving, old man," Damian answered. Taking stock of the situation, he'd realized that Grease's group was the last he could join. "Let's just get out of here sooner rather than later." His gun fully assembled and his mission assigned, the young man was more than ready to leave the crowd and get on the road.

Grease laughed, coughed and then took another drink, wiping his lips with his stained shirt, "Don't you worry, boy, we'll be there and back before you know it."

"'There and back,'? You do remember what we're doing, don't you, Grease?" Oliver asked, growing more concerned over his team's leadership.

"I got the gist of it, sure, lunch lady."

Walton took position back at the front of the crowd, "Everyone's team looks assembled, yes? Then grab your portions from Oliver and get to your assigned position! Once you've seen my signal, move in on the target, and not before then!

"Team Top Tier Superstars, move out!"

Celeste was taken aback. "What? I didn't know our team had a name!"

"Don't worry," Walton snickered, "taking your memberships into consideration, I've taken the liberty of naming every one of your teams for you!"

"Team Top Tier Superstars! Leader: Walton Fable, scavenger: Jo Salazar, courser: Celeste Deliano, keeper: Theodore Wellington!"

"I'm actually okay with this name!" Celeste loudly decided with an eager smile.

"Team Eating Like Kings! Leader: Marco Visago, keeper: Oliver Raleigh, scavenger: Damian Hidalgo!"

"Is Grease really our leader?" Damian complained quietly, getting only a shrug from Oliver.

"Team Missionary Position! Leader: Aiden Cherche, scavenger: Carmen Carlyle, courser: Xervius Selphuon!"

Xervius went red in the face at that name, stuttering and stammering some feeble protest, while Aiden's mouth hung open like a cod and their resident robot had hardly any reaction at all.

"Team Extras! Leader: Zevenna Maul, courser: Esther McCaffrey, keeper: Hanami Mori!"

"Who said we were extras?!" The trio exclaimed loudly.

"Move on out!"

* * *

 **Walton Fable's Journal. Entry, June 20th, X850**

For the first time since the world exploded, I met other people. I knew there were survivors out there, but I couldn't have imagined how warm it would feel to finally meet some of them. I came across a small family, just two parents and one kid, who couldn't have been more than ten years old.

I saw them from very far away at first, and took off running towards them. I couldn't really believe it. It felt like if I let them all slip away, then I'd be losing something very important that I couldn't precisely describe. I had to make certain they weren't just phantoms, or hallucinations from a lack of food.

All that running must have startled them, because they were on quite the edge when I finally got close. I must have been smiling like a lunatic, they couldn't be more afraid. I did everything I could to calm them down, to assuage their fears, but they weren't having it. That kid's face is burned into my mind. To be so afraid of a complete stranger, I can't imagine what they must have seen before me.

I plead with them, tried to offer them some of my meager rations, some clothes I'd found along the way. I was willing to trade anything with them just to have some decent conversation. The only thing they wanted was for me to leave. I couldn't do it. I've hidden myself away from people for my whole adult life, and finally when some of them ask me to do just that I can't bring myself to do it. I'm not sure what that says about who, but it was entirely unpleasant.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I really miss people.

* * *

 **May 4th, X906**

"Sir, another problem has come up!"

The Tattooed Man turned from a large map to the young woman who spoke. Both of them, with a few others, were standing inside what was a restaurant many decades ago. Now, it served as a simple planning room, with several old, scratched up maps collected, and enough seats for many men and women to be seated at.

"How often must I tell you, Lisa, there's no need for such titles," the Tattooed Man replied. He gestured to the rest of the crowd in the room, "Everyone who stands with me stands at the same level. The Dark Wash Tribe has no hierarchy!"

Dramatic tears welled up in Lisa's eyes, her hands clenched together as if in prayer. "Of course! I'll never forget! I'm so sorry!"

"What a sick joke," another man said, cutting short the positive vibe the Tattooed Man's speech had generated. His entrance shifted the atmosphere into something far mistrusting and dangerous. "This is why you tribesman have such trouble against two little girls. You're all some brainwashed idealists!"

Lisa didn't hesitate to retaliate to those words, and cut a kick across the man's neck, only for him to reappear over the map that was being studied so closely. "Watch your tongue Cibran!" Lisa scolded all the same.

"No, Lisa," the Tattooed Man plainly said, keeping an even tone in his voice. "You are the one who is out of line. As long as Cibran is with us, he stands shoulder to shoulder with every other tribesman. However," he turned his attention to the lanky man, grinning like a cat, "you should recognize you're not a part of your old bloody group anymore. Not since our deal your former tyrant."

Cibran only nodded, keeping up his wide, gleaming smile. The expression earned him more than a few dirty looks from the other tribesman around him.

"What issue were you speaking of, Lisa?"

The woman shook her attention from Cibran to the Tattooed Man and the map, pointing to several routes leading into the destroyed city. "It seems our distress call was heard," Lisa said, "four small groups of wizards are coming through these entry points. They look poised to siege."

"If they were to siege, they would need some sort of target. We have no castle, no city, and no territory. Thus, their backwards ideologies will be their own destruction."

"You think we should move?" Lisa asked.

The Tattooed Man shook his head, "Just because there is nothing for us to defend does not mean we must cower to their will. Let us wipe them and their ideals from this clean world! I would beseech you and Cibran to target one of these groups each. If we let some of them through, we'll have effectively split their party," he looked up from the map and out to the crowd that occupied the room, "are there any objections to my humble suggestion?!"

"NO!" every voice replied clearly, Lisa's shout reverberating all the rest, and Cibran's obviously absent from the chorus.

Lisa raised her own voice following the answer, "Anglers, with me! Let's show these invaders the strength of our beliefs!"

Four men and women responded to the call, following Lisa out of the room. Cibran slowly left on his own, hands shoved into his pockets, and teeth clenched tightly. He resented having to actually work for these barbarians, but held fast.

* * *

"I spy with my little eye… something white!" Aiden Cherche exclaimed.

Xervius Selphuon was sprawled out in the back row of leather seats. The four wheeler they'd picked up from Grease's junkyard was plenty comfortable, with some sense of style the mechanic had insisted was "Classic." But, at that moment, the young prince was just praying he could've built the thing to move a little faster.

"Is it the Northern Cross Swallow to our northwest?" Carmen Carlyle guessed, playing along with the priest's game from the driver's seat.

"Is it the what? I don't even see that!"

"Human eyes are rather disappointing, aren't they?"

"How about you Xervius? This helps me deal with car sickness, buddy. Even the robot is playing!"

"Machias," Carmen corrected, keeping her head straight towards the front of the car.

Xervius kept his own navy eyes on the roof of the car, "I don't know man… clouds?"

"You got it! Everyone told me you were a clever kid! We should hang out more often, man. I think you'd really dig our Sunday service."

The prince pursed his lips, struggling to think of a worthy excuse, when he was saved from the conversation by Carmen's interruption.

"Aiden, is it my turn now?"

"Well by league rules it's Xervius', but I suppose we can bend the regulations. I won't tell if you won't!"

"I spy with my technologically advanced eye, a speedboat."

"I don't get the joke," Aiden complained.

Xervius sat up from the back row to look through the windshield now, and saw exactly what Carmen did. Directly approaching their four wheeler was a metal speedboat, bearing no sails and riding atop some strange wave like a surfboard, stuck inside of a localized rainstorm. The wave moved independently of any ocean or body of water, simply rolling across the level grass of the valley. Even in Xervius' travels, this looked to be a brand new development.

"Oh! I see the problem!" Aiden remarked with a smile. "Carmen, you're supposed to say something like… 'I spy something metal,' or, 'I spy something nautical,' and then we try and guess what you're referring to!" The priest chuckled at her supposed misunderstanding. "Don't worry, we'll let you go again, right Xervius?"

"I've never seen a craft like that! I see something like four crew members on it. They don't exactly seem friendly do they?"

"No," Aiden shook his head, "You're supposed to say, 'I spy,' not 'I spot.' C'mon, buddy you were doing so well before!"

Carmen didn't shake her head, but also corrected the boy, "I see five. And I'm more right than you. I'll try changing course around them."

"Good thinking," Aiden praised, waving around a black book marked with a religious insignia, "we're always taught to avoid conflict if we can!"

Carmen curved the car's course just wide enough to the right, only for the speedboat to mirror the movement, maintaining its collision course. In just those few moments, the two vehicles had grown much closer. Now even Xervius could make out the fifth crew member he'd missed before. It would only be a few more minutes until the four wheeler was caught up in the torrential downpour that seemed to hover over the boat.

With conflict growing closer still, even Aiden's smile seemed to waver a bit. "You don't feel we need to avoid their clearly magic rain?"

"No," Xervius quickly answered, even though he wasn't the one asked. "This large area of effect combined with this sort of mobility probably means there isn't much of a special effect to this rain. Especially with how the crew members are moving around, they don't seem particularly interested in maintaining this spell. Chances are it's normal rain created by a single wizard, almost certainly in relation with the vehicle or the wave underneath it."

"Normal water is still a very big problem for some of us, skin-bag," Carmen complained, seeming to tense up once they entered the rainstorm.

"I knew that," Aiden said, "you've passed my test. Kudos, young man."

"Does our leader have a strategy to share?" Carmen asked, her eyes still trained on the oncoming boat.

Aiden scoffed and brandished his book once more. "Weren't you listening? We avoid conflict, and talk this one out. We don't know for certain they have any sort of malice towards us!"

 **"Wave Gate!"**

Some ways in front of them, a pool of rain seemed to slow in the middle of thin air, collecting and condensing until it formed a small disc of rushing water. It didn't seem to do much on its own however, and the voice seemed to come from somewhere towards the boat. At the ship's bow a man in a thick vest raised a large fishing rod, fiddling with something towards the end of the line.

 **"Lure Summon: Vermilion Ray!"**

The spell coincided with the man tossing his rod's hook into the Wave Gate, diving far deeper than what should have been possible. Quickly, the line became taut, and the man jerked backwards, wrenching the line out of the water, and pulling with it a scarlet manta ray almost as big as the boat itself, that began to glide towards the four wheeler far faster than Carmen was comfortable with.

"Woah! What a cool magic tool! I've never seen a summoning like that!" Xervius exclaimed, his eyes more concerned with the fisherman than his catch.

"Don't let me get wet, you flesh!"

"Right! Sorry!"

Xervius clambered out of the door in the back, hurriedly rushing towards the top of the car.

"Be careful up there!" Aiden advised, "Make smart decisions!"

 **"Summon Revenant Archers!"**

Two dark violet magic circles sprouted from Xervius' hands, streaming purple energy towards the soggy earth. As they connected, two humanoid, dark blue figures crumbled and erupted upwards, taking solid shape as undead soldiers who readied their cracked, black bows with arrows.

"Fire at will!" Xervius ordered, and the two archers immediately responded to the command, notching and unloading arrows into the manta ray's side, until it toppled over in the middle of the sky, skidding to a halt against the slick grass of the valley.

The short confrontation was quickly followed by a sharp left turn of the four wheeler, bringing Xervius to his knees in an attempt to hang on to the roof of the car.

"Hang on!" Carmen advised loudly.

"You're supposed to say that _before_ you do something insane!"

Evasive action just put the car out of the wave's path, and it began turning wide to continue its pursuit of the Galleon Park team.

 **"Wave Gate!"**

Another disc of water began to materialize from the rainfall, this one between the car and the pursuing Anglers. Two more fisherman took position at the starboard side of the ship, facing the two floating gates and readying their rods. Behind them, the revenant archers did their best to assault the craft with a barrage of arrows, most of which were blocked by another crew member.

 **"Lure Summon: Rocky Moray!"**

 **"Lure Summon: Bison Shark!"**

The lines dove into the gates were pulled free, with two more creatures summoned. One a large eel that sunk into the muddy earth immediately after escaping the gate. The other was a gray blue shark with a long skull that seemed to swim through the rain, quickly gaining ground against the trio of escaping wizards.

"Any help up here, Father?"

Aiden poked his head out of the window, "They're just animals, Xervius! It's not their fault they're being manipulated by those wizards!"

"Well then why don't you go fight those wizards?! I'm running out of moves on the board!"

Aiden opened up the car door and joined Xervius on the top of the car, pushing his sunglasses back up the bridge of his nose. "I won't fight them!" the priest said, earning a sour groan from Xervius.

"Human sentimentality will actually be my end this time," Carmen complained to no one in particular.

"But, I _will_ negotiate!"

"Whatever, man," Xervius replied, already feeling crushing defeat.

"Hey, kid," Aiden said confidently, somehow pushing his sunglasses further up the bridge of his nose. "You know why I wear these shades?"

"I know you're gonna tell me."

"It's cause the future is looking bright, son!"

 **"Angel!"**

Two shining, white magic circles appeared on Aiden's shoulder blades, expanding into a pair of wings so bright they matched the beaming smile on the priest's face. A gold halo took shape over his blonde hair, with several points decorating the ring.

"Hold on!" A few meters in front of the car, the moray broke free from the mud, obstructing Carmen's path and forcing her to swerve away from the creature. Xervius clung tightly to the roof of the car, but Aiden merely flew off the vehicle, and sped towards the boat, harmlessly weaving out of the shark's path to avoid a nasty bite.

"Get yourself out of the rain!" Xervius shouted to the Machias below him.

"Skin bags don't give me orders!"

 **"Necro Armor!"**

Another violet magic circle came to be on Xervius' chest, spreading across his body until it had formed into form-fitting black metal. Decorated with spikes and skulls, it looked more like a dangerous weapon than actual protection. But, for the prince, it was more than enough to go fishing. He ran a few steps across the top of the car, leapt with all his might and tackled the shark head-on, jamming its jaw open with an ironclad shoulder tackle.

In mere moments, Aiden had cleared the distance, and was on the bow of the wave riding ship, hands raised high in the air once the Anglers approached with their fishing rods at the ready.

The priest, still smiling, swallowed and spoke, "Is there any chance you guys want to surrender peacefully?"

* * *

"Is there any chance you guys want to surrender peacefully?"

Oliver Raleigh was, moments ago, alone in the backseat of a very stylish hot rod. The car was Grease's pride and joy, and it had been a hard fought battle to convince him that it should probably be left to Damian to drive it through the red, rocky canyon on the way towards their destination. The car itself was a hot scarlet, had an open top, with white-wall tires and an exposed engine that looked as if it could bite your head clean off, and sounded like it might if you treated it wrong.

"I wouldn't wanna scratch your ride up, after all."

Oliver Raleigh had been alone until, from what could only be described as a gust of wind, a fourth man joined the party on their road trip. His lips were pulled back into a gnarly smile. The black vest he was wearing came to a fur-lined collar that obscured much of his neck and chin, even as it blew apart in the wind like his jet black fade. It exposed his muscular, brown arms, on of which was draped around Oliver like they were positively chummy and not complete strangers.

"I do mean that, by the way, no matter what happens. The whole reason I came to your group was because you guys had the sickest ride! I mean… one of you was rolling in a tricycle of all things! What's up with that?"

Oliver's focus was on the man's right shoulder, on which there was a tattoo, a marking of three parallel red curves. On someone else they might've looked like a wild beast's scratches, but he knew much better.

"Get your feet off my leather you punk!" Grease said from the shotgun seat, pointing to the stranger's black leather boots.

Damian was next to act to pull from the backpack at his side an obnoxiously large revolver. His cognac colored eyes were now a sheer silver. While his other hand kept the car straight through the canyon, his eyes were trained on the stranger from the rearview mirror.

"Don't move another inch," Damian threatened, "This gun will cut you in half before you can ask where the cannonball came from. I'm pulling over, and then you're going to tell us exactly who you are."

"No need for that," the man said, maintaining his sickly smile. "The name's Cibran Soto. Why would you want to stop anyways? Don't you love the wind in your hair?"

"Where is Leith?!" Oliver rushed the stranger, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and slamming his back into the car door.

Grease reached back to pull Oliver off of Cibran, "Quit it, boy! You're going to scratch something!"

"I don't have a clear shot! Oliver!"

Cibran laughed once, a noise that more closely resembled a harsh bark than something full of joy. "Don't worry, gentlemen, I can tell when I'm not wanted!"

What Oliver was holding evaporated into nothingness, and the man was left clutching the breeze.

"Get off of that engine you freak! Do you know how long it took me to build that?!" Grease screeched at Cibran, who was now squatting in front of the windshield.

Damian pulled his arm over the seat and squeezed the trigger on his gun. A magic round busted through the the windshield and passed through the invader like he was a phantasm, leaving a hole which quickly closed back up.

"Don't you know exposed engines are dangerous, you codger?" Cibran asked, positioning his hands on top of the engine. "They're very vulnerable to all sorts of accidents!"

 **"Over Breath!"**

A gale force infested the engine, rending pieces apart, pushing them together and in a matter of seconds, turning a hot rod into a warped husk of flame, gas and iron, with three bodies decorating the scene of the explosion.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading! I was almost able to introduce every character! I promise I'll be able to finish the core cast next chapter, Team Extras will get their time in the limelight. Thanks to everyone who's submitted a villain as well, submissions are still open for antagonists to join the current arc, and will stay open for future arcs.

 **Character Credits**

Damian Hidalgo - _JohnV1896_

Celeste Deliano _\- musicaldreams89_

Zevenna Maul - _LittleMage1996_

Oliver Raleigh - _Dreadburner94_

Marco 'Grease' Visago - _Origm2012_

Carmen Carlyle - _klbubblepop786_

 **Review Responses**

 _onyxwhip -_ I hope Xervius' portrayal continued to live up to your work! Hopefully putting him with Aiden and Carmen was the right call.

 _Reduced20_ \- Kind of proud to know my girl has captured some attention. I was much happier to have more opportunity with interaction this time.

 _Elegant Soul_ \- Here's hoping I continue to continue with a fairly regular schedule!

 _SilverMonkey96_ \- I consider myself a very good chap, thank you.

 _MisterMediocre -_ Thank you for advising me with Aiden. I plan to play around much more with interactions. All the characters I've received have created a really fun playground for me!

 _tobi-is-an-artist-too_ \- Kuri seems to have made quite the impression! I hope future installments manage to maintain this level of excitement!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, reviews are the best. And so is reading to the bottom of the story. Good on you, kind reader. See ya next time!


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